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YORKTOWN, N.Y. -- State Sen. Greg Ball and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are announcing new legislation to facilitate the awarding of state contracts to disabled veterans.

Cuomo hosted a ceremonial bill signing for the legislation at the New York State Veterans and Military Families Summit in Albany.

The program will create a 6 percent state contract set- aside for service-connected disabled veteran owned small businesses.

The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act will "ensure New York State’s service-connected disabled veterans are able to compete for upwards of $400 million in state contracts," representatives said.

Ball, whose district includes Cortlandt, Peekskill, Mount Kisco, New Castle, Lewisboro, Pound Ridge, North Salem, Somers and Yorktown, is chairman of the Senate Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee.

He previously hosted a series of roundtables, hearings, press conferences and events over the past three years to rally grassroots support for legislation.

“New Yorkers can stand tall and proud today knowing that we have kept America’s promise to our veterans and service disabled heroes," Ball said in a release. "This is what good people can accomplish when they forget the politics and just focus on doing the right thing. Bravo to all involved, bravo."

New York State is home to nearly 900,000 veterans, 600,000 of whom have served during periods of conflict, according to the U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs. There are roughly 106,000 service-connected disabled veterans in New York State, Cuomo said.